ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the nature, origins, and impact of various agricultural policies in Nigeria and aims to situate them within a broader political and economic context. It also examines the macroeconomic context of policy and summarises changes in policy before turning to the detail of specific policy interventions. Contrary to the views of Robert Bates, government policies in Nigeria have not been especially detrimental to the interests of the majority of farmers. Moreover, the agricultural policies that have been pursued cannot be explained in terms of the political weight of urban interests, which impart an urban bias to policy, leaving rural producers exploited and politically isolated. The 1970s and early 1980s are usually seen as a time of agrarian stagnation and crisis in Nigeria. The picture of crisis is associated with the following features: stagnant or declining output, fear of large increases in food price inflation, the virtual disappearance of agricultural exports, and a large rise in food imports.
